A Pakistani airline passenger aircraft was barred from entering Saudi airspace Friday on the grounds that the airline did not have the required documents, reports said.

The Shaheen Air flight SAI (NL) -711 — which was carrying 200 passengers — took off on April 9 from Lahore for Dammam but upon entering Saudi airspace, the pilots were told that they were not authorised to land in Saudi Arabia.

Another report published in a local daily quoted General Manager of Shaheen Air Khalid Fareed Lodhi as saying that the reason for denying the aircraft permission to land was operational and technical.

"We were told by the Saudi Aviation Authority that because the aircraft was on lease from a Jordanian airline, it was not in line with the Saudi National Aviation policy to allow it to even enter Saudi airspace, let alone land there," Lodhi told the newspaper.

However, the report quoted him as saying that the same aircraft had landed in Saudi Arabia previously on the same route, and this could perhaps be a new policy.

The aircraft subsequently reverted to an emergency protocol and landed in the UAE for refueling, after which the passengers were brought back to Lahore.

After the matter was sorted out, the passengers were transported to their destination in Dammam.

Opinion

Editorial

Return to the helm
Updated 28 Apr, 2024

Return to the helm

With Nawaz Sharif as PML-N president, will we see more grievances being aired?
Unvaxxed & vulnerable
Updated 28 Apr, 2024

Unvaxxed & vulnerable

Even deadly mosquito-borne illnesses like dengue and malaria have vaccines, but they are virtually unheard of in Pakistan.
Gaza’s hell
Updated 28 Apr, 2024

Gaza’s hell

Perhaps Western ‘statesmen’ may moderate their policies if a significant percentage of voters punish them at the ballot box.
Missing links
Updated 27 Apr, 2024

Missing links

As the past decades have shown, the country has not been made more secure by ‘disappearing’ people suspected of wrongdoing.
Freedom to report?
27 Apr, 2024

Freedom to report?

AN accountability court has barred former prime minister Imran Khan and his wife from criticising the establishment...
After Bismah
27 Apr, 2024

After Bismah

BISMAH Maroof’s contribution to Pakistan cricket extends beyond the field. The 32-year old, Pakistan’s...